


Stairway to Valhalla

by bielefelts



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, another historical fantasy anyone?, rating may go up later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 09:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12078756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bielefelts/pseuds/bielefelts
Summary: In the northern lands that the great Norse gods ruled since the beginning of time, things are changing. With the encroachment of Christianity, slowly the old beliefs are beginning to be assimilated and more pure believers of the old customs are being shunned. Shu, along with other heathens, targeted by members of this growing movement decides to leave his local homeland to avoid punishment.During his journey out in the poor countryside he meets a strange boy, who's unparalleled appearance and potentially, unearthly powers are omens that could help Shu fulfill his revenge: take down the ruling Tenshouin's and their vassals who have embraced this new custom and are now attempting to stamp out all traces of the old.





	Stairway to Valhalla

**Author's Note:**

> There's one thing I wanna say before yall start reading: I am deeply, truly sorry for the cheesy as hell title.

Putrid.

Rancid.

Absolutely sickening and foul.

The stench of decaying flesh, blood and bone was only thing Shu Itsuki, youngest son of a well-known family of textile merchants, could focus on as he passed yet another bloated corpse of a slain warrior, probably the hundredth he had the absolute displeasure of meeting in this too short of a time. At least he didn’t feel the nausea anymore. He had long emptied his stomach after seeing the third after what seemed like ages ago- eyeballs gouged out by scavenging birds, empty sockets visible with maggot-laying flies even behind his still in-place, conical helmet.

While Shu wasn’t familiar with the area, or any outside his own hometown for that matter, he could tell this had once been an isolated farming community, consisting of no more than a handful of families.

 _Been_ , being the key word.

To his right stood the remnants of structures, wooden foundations black from the flames that had quickly overtaken them. Around them cadavers lay strewed about, some warrior’s bodies seemingly untouched, as if they were simply resting, others with axes wedged in their faces. Others still, in a state more similar to the charred homesteads around them. 

Shu seethed. Barbaric. 

There have been an increasing amount of skirmishes across the, now, “united” kingdom. A new king, a new god - a single one at that; what a conceited deity he must be, he is only one of many - all brought by foreign interlopers who only wanted power and wealth from the chaos it created. Hammers and the other ancient symbols were being replaced by crosses, idols of the great gods, Odin, Thor, and Freyr thrown from family homes to be desecrated, holy offerings seen as devil worship. This was the depravity this once proud land now contained.

While some had embraced this new custom, mixing even its symbols with those of the old, Shu wasn’t the type who treated new things as good. He was a pure believer of the old tradition, a heathen - someone who lives on the 'heaths', the countryside - they now called him, one that mentioned interlopers and some of their most devout converts wanted to slowly erase. The gods must be turning their noses up at the heresy.

His stomach churned again, this time not just from the smell and general disgust of the state of current affairs, but rather from the intensifying foreboding aura that surrounded him.

Shu had always been more sensitive than most to these types of things, and he had no doubt that spirits and devils lurked in this slaughter. Despite the numerous protective symbols embroidered on the handkerchief he had over his nose and mouth to try and block out the overpowering haze of death, he could feel it seeping into his lungs, his clothes, his skin. The ancient circlet he wore also seemed powerless. It seemed his “blessing” from the gods was not even enough to keep him protected.

He quickened his pace. Except perhaps the sanctuary of Gamla Uppsala, where the old customs still held strong, he had no exact destination he was heading to, but ‘away’ was certainly the direction.

Thankfully, a forest promised shelter up ahead. There might even be a clean stream there he could try and purify himself. He would need it. And not just after walking in this ashy, rotting filth for so long.

He guessed another hour’s walk if he continued skirting the battlefield. But…only perhaps a third of that time if he made a beeline. However, not only would that would take him up a small hill…but straight through the worst of the desecrated battlefield.

Shu paused and turned to look at the steadily reddening sun. It’d be dark before he reached the forest if he continued his current route…

The logical part of his mind was telling him to keep on the outskirts. Another part was cursing at him for even considering the alternative. But with darkness came danger. The spirits would grow more restless. While he did hold some sort of favor from the gods, he was still mortal. Unarmed aside a small, cutting knife and a satchel of sewing needles and with his physique, a single, well-aimed blow is all it would take…

Yet…another, minuscule part, barely been worth acknowledging, was telling him to go _. Take thyself into that god-forsaken destruction_ , it whispered…

_Go…_

He stood for a moment, feeling it tug gently at his legs.

...

“…This is perhaps the most foolish thing I have ever done”, he said to himself, as if saying it outloud would somehow change the direction of his feet had already chosen to take. Surely he was going to be cursed at this rate. Oh well, he technically was on the run and he much rather let the spirits and gods who he always known, ruled over this land and the heaven’s above since the creation of time, take his life than those of the traitors who now sat preaching poison into it and the weak-minded masses.

The hillside was covered in bodies. Battle-hardened warriors, horses, a stray villager, even a child. None were spared. Valkyrie truly would have their pick here. As he passed the poor child, glassy eyes staring motionless to the heavens, blood dried on his sliced neck, he spotted a necklace hanging off to the side of his head, a pendant, representing the hammer of Thor at its end.

 _Ah._ So this is why…they were heathens, just as he.

Not being a spiritual leader, he could not give a ritual sacrifice to offer their restless souls, not that he had anything that he felt would be befitting. Rather, he opted to give a small prayer for their travels to in the afterlife. Looking up to the cloudy, twilight sky he instead he saw something that made his own soul quake.

A bright sunbeam was filtering through the clouds, seemingly landing on top of the very hill he was climbing.

Unable to believe his eyes, he blinked...and it was gone. The clouds had returned to normal as if nothing had been there at all.

He blinked again for good measure, but whatever the light had been had vanished. He must have imagined it. The stench must be making him hallucinate.

Continuing up the slope, stepping over piles of corpses, weapons, shields, and armor, Shu finally reached the peak. He could see each individual pine now down in the quiet, forested valley below. It should be only a short walk down and the sun still had not set. He was safe.

Looking back down the path he took he could now see the true expanse of the destruction and death that had occurred. He had stumbled upon it perhaps midway, but from this vantage point he couldn’t even see where the line of littered bodies and armory ended as the gently, rolling hills were enveloped by the encroaching twilight.

This massive of an army was too large to deploy to burn a measly, heathen hamlet.

What Shu was beginning to notice as well, as he looked at the bodies before him and remembered the countless he passed, was that the warriors were indistinguishable from one another. The armor’s design, the colors of their tunics, the insignia only differing in their messy, hasty stitching. They had all served under the same Jarl…No. This number? A king. _A prince_.

Blood boiling as he envisioned pale hair, icy eyes and the colder heart they masked, Shu’s face remained stoic, too numb from horror he witnessed, the constant unnerving atmosphere hanging above this place, waiting to overtake him…what had happened to himself. Everything.

He sighed, his wrath dissipating. What had transpired here he didn’t want any part of it. Warriors were ultimately uncultured brutes, glorifying masculinity, raw strength and the ability to savagely kill and overpower everything they saw as a challenge. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if they had simply burned the town, killing its inhabitants for the enjoyment of it before turning on another in a mad, insatiable bloodlust. Shu had always disliked them. He was glad, if only for this sole reason, that he was born sickly so that he never had to mingle with their company.

Having seen enough death to last him the rest of his lifetime, he turned back to the valley. However, before Shu could take a step further a rustling behind him, those like of a large bird flapping its wings, caught his attention. Cautiously, he turned again and came to spot a large, dark mass, seemingly sitting, alone in the middle of the carnage on the other side of the hilltop.

He thought he was hallucinating again and closed his eyes. No one truly could have survived this massacre, could they? But when he opened them, it was still there.

It was too big to be a bird, even that of an eagle. It couldn’t be corpse either, as it was definitely sitting upright. The light was too dim to be able to see clearly, but Shu watched as the dark mass shifted, as if bringing massive black wings closer to its hunched body.

For a moment Shu stood still, unnerved. He felt as if he shouldn’t be looking at...whatever it was. Shu knew gods and other inhabitants born in the other realm existed and could visit the mortal world if they wished. Some lived here, unable to return, and others were even cast here, banished, as devils and other evil. Despite the pressure of unearthly foreboding again encroaching him he couldn’t look away.

Shu took in a breath through the handkerchief he still held over his mouth, attempting to calm his beating pulse as he studied the being before him.

What if was a survivor, as preposterous as the thought sounded even to himself? No one could have possibly survived this. It had to have been days since the battle had ended, there was no way…

The image of the slain boy with the pendant flashed through his mind.

_But what if it was?_

As before, his legs began to move on their own – away from the valley and towards the dark form.

Walking slow, the human – he was growing more confident of that now, as it still was not devouring him whole – didn’t move as he approached, still being sure to stand on-guard a few steps away, noting it had to be a child…or perhaps maiden, he guessed from their petite size and lack of warrior’s garb. He could also now see the darkness surrounding the other was fabric, like a large shawl or oversized robe. _Not wings_ , he chided himself.

Regardless, he was awestruck.

The dark blue? Black? Shu could not even fully describe the color. This type of iridescence was rare to see in textiles, especially in this dark of a hue. Was it silk perhaps? The craftsmanship put into the dyeing had to have be phenomenal. He made an internal note to ask for the artisan’s name. Additionally, while less rare, but definitely still uncommon, especially in these northern lands where most had fair and ruddy hair, were messy locks of the same lustrous color, peeking out the top. Their face was still hidden deep in the fabric they were huddled in.

That was not what perturbed him though.

Raven feathers.

Everywhere. Circling them.

Shu hadn’t noticed them when he first reached the figure, but now he could see them scattered about wildly, a scene similar as if a cat had scuffled with an avian meal. Despite this, they all seemed untouched by the bloodshed around them, even as some danced, landing upon bodies, in the evening breeze. Several downy feathers even stuck, melding into the figure's similar hair _. Blár_ , in the old tongue, Shu’s memory helpfully provided.

Different than the inky darkness of _svartr_. This was the color of bruised flesh, fine clothing and tapestries, stones and marble, armor and weapons, smoke and flames. Raven’s feathers. The color of this person’s hair and garb. One could even say, there was much _blár_ surrounding them here. But this..? It was an omen. In the Edda texts the wearing of _blár-_ colored clothing frequently indicated that the wearer was about to slay...

He heard a part of his brain, which he was increasingly believing was the actual logical part, cursing at him again. Because, out of all things, against every fiber of his moral instincts that told him he should turn around, never look back and erase this nightmarish day from his memory, he called out to seemingly frozen being in front of him.

“Pardon? Are you alr—“

They started hearing Shu’s voice, revealing their face.

Now it was Shu’s turn to freeze.

The brightest blue and gold, shining gems more dazzling and exquisite in their beauty than the richest king would ever be able to obtain, as brilliant and otherworldly as perhaps the halls of Valhalla themselves, shone before him.

It took them blinking for Shu to realize they were eyes, each a different color. Even behind long bangs, they stood out vividly, framed by the contrast of snow, white skin. 

Their face, although partially hidden, was a thing to behold. Shu was still not sure of their sex, and while he preferred the company of men (ones of appropriate class, of course), if anyone at all, he would instantly be enraptured if he ever saw someone with features as ethereal as the one he saw staring, wide-eyed, right back at him.

He could feel his heart drumming in his throat.

Shu coughed lightly before continuing. “P-please do not be frightened. I am only a traveler. I simply want to ask if you are you alright.”

After a moment, the beauty replied. “….I don’t know. I ain’t hurtin’ anywhere I think.” The breathy voice that came out their mouth was deeper than Shu expected. Maybe they were male after all?

“Were you from the village here? Do you remember what happened?”

Another pause, as he examined the scene around him. “I don’t remember…don’t remember anythin’ except waking up and seein’ ya.”

Well, perhaps that was for the best, Shu thought, knowing the fate of the village and its inhabitants below. Looks and expensive shawl aside, the boy’s, Shu had decided, countryside dialect certainly pointed to him being from the area. Perhaps, he could be useful…

“Can you stand? It’ll be dark soon and we cannot stay here. I’m heading to the forest in the valley below, come with me if you like. It should be safe there until morning.”

“Nnah?” The raven-like boy even made noises like one. “A forest? I don’t know if I’d like that…” He tapered off before placing a hand to his head, closing his eyes as if in pain, dark cloth falling to reveal a bony shoulder.

“Fool, I’m not asking you if you like them…and are you sure you are well? You must be truly traumatized if you prefer to remain here amongst the dead. Must I carry you?”

Not receiving an answer other than a drawn-out whine, Shu, not wanting to waste any more time and deciding that this strange, but seemingly otherwise harmless boy, was thin enough for him to carry at least for this small distance, hoisted him up into his arms.

He made the same funny, bird-like noise at being lifted, but otherwise didn’t struggle as Shu made his way down to the valley. The boy barely weighed anything, considering Shu now could tell that he was definitely taller than a child, probably closer to his own height and age, if anything. He could probably carry him with one arm if he wanted.

 While Shu definitely disliked crowds and strangers, he wasn’t cruel enough to leave someone in the middle of a battlefield through the night, especially now that Shu held him so close, when that someone was as visually perfect as this boy. Shu loved beautiful things, collected even one could say, and if he could preserve even one more beautiful thing in this increasingly ugly world, he felt he had done just.

“What is it you’re called?” Shu asked. Surely there must be something he recalled.

“…M.…Kagehira”, he mumbled, barely audible, face against Shu’s chest, again nested deep in his shawl.

He at least remembered that much.

“Kagehira? How old are you, Kagehira?”

“Uh…don’t remember.”

“Then, do you have any parents? Siblings? Relatives, even distant ones that live elsewhere?”

“Mmm…..maybe? I really don’t remember …I don’t remember lots right now, sorry. My head's poudin’ a lot.”

Shu sighed. “Well, we can figure who you are in the morning then, we’ve almost reached the woods. We’ll stop and make camp after we go a bit of a ways. Would it be foolish enough of me to ask if you know if there’s a clean stream close by to wash in?”

“Nah, sorry…”

“Quite alright.” Shu had to keep his impatience in check. Kagehira had probably gone through a terrible experience, and perhaps had for a while, noting the bony shoulder he saw earlier and was now jabbing him in the shoulder. Amnesia was probably the least of his worries; he would get no answers tonight.

More importantly, Shu could feel the death that had been overwhelming him earlier, being to dissipate as the open fields behind them changed to a healthy pine wood. The wind seemed to be in their favor as well, as the rotting smell didn’t reach here. With probably no more than a few minutes of daylight left, they had made it.

The forest too had its creatures that lurked the night, namely wolves and bears, but the protective symbols that Shu had on himself should keep them at bay. At least, they haven’t failed him yet on this journey.

After venturing a bit further into the trees, making sure the battlefield and burned town were well behind them, Shu finally found a suitable spot to stop for the night.

Gently putting Kagehira down on what Shu deemed was the softest patch of moss, Shu set up camp. It was nothing but a small fire and poorly-built lean-to, but it would have to make do.

“Here, eat this. They aren’t fresh anymore, probably disgusting now honestly, but they’re the only thing I currently have. It’s a pastry from my hometown.”

“Thank ya kindly.” He other boy sweetly chimed, as he accepted the crescent-shaped bread and took a bite. “Mmm! It’s good! I like poorly-made stuffs, so this is amazin’.”

“I shall accept that as a compliment, but I assure you they are expertly-made, as they came from my own oven.”

“Nnah? Ya made these? Wah, you’re real talented, Mentor!”

Shu, while inwardly pleased to be praised by such a lovely smile, raised a brow. “Mentor? I have a name, you know – Shu Itsuki. I have not done anything to make you see me as a mentor.”

“But ya saved me didn’t ya? Carried me here, and fed me. That’s more than anyone’s ever done for me.”

That proved Shu’s earlier hunch.

“While that makes you in my debt, a mentor that does not make me still.”

“Well…”, He said, talking through another bite. “Ya got all ‘em fancy charms on yer clothes too! I can feel ya made ‘em with care. They felt a lot like ya - warm and protective. Ya could’ve held me forever and I wouldn’t have minded! I wish I could make stuff like that…”

Cute as he might be (ignoring the lack of tableside manners), Shu carefully noted Kagehira’s “observation”. This boy was growing more curious by the minute. How did he know he had sewn them…?

“Plus, ya slaughtered all those people up there too didn’t ya? That’s gotta make ya super strong, ain’t it? Being able to take away lives like that..you’s gotta be a Valkyrie.”

Shu first thought he misheard. Surely, this lovely-faced, albeit a peculiar, boy did not just think that he had killed all those people, let alone praise him for doing so? Shu tried to interject, but the other kept going.

“Surely, only a few of ‘em disgraceful sinners up there were even worthy to go take to Valhalla; they’d shame the einherjar and Odin himself, so ya killed ‘em. Bet’cha didn’t even take half!”

Those gemstone eyes glowed even more brilliantly than the seemingly intensifying light of the campfire’s flame they reflected as he practically laughed. Shu could only stare, bewildered for the perhaps umpteenth time this afternoon.

 “Yer like a God, ya know?” Kagehira murmured, voice crackling like a growing storm. “Born from our great Majesty, Odin…Ya belong in the halls of Valhalla, guiding those blessed, mortal souls to follow his Will, serving them till the battle commences.”

Kagehira’s voice drew even stronger, deeper, almost seeming possessed, holy in its resonance. “I’ll follow ya, Mentor. I’ll follow thee till the ends of Ragnarok! As we guide the einherjar! Even as the mighty ash Yggdrasil and the fields of Fólkvangr burn – as we all burn! God and mortal alike! ” he boomed, proclamation thundering through the trees. Gazing straight into Shu, voice lowering, he concludes, “I hath chosen thy fate...”

And with that, as if someone had thrown water over the campfire behind him (Shu still wasn’t sure if he had imagined that or not) the glow his eyes went out. After blinking dumbly for a moment, Kagehira put the rest of the stale pastry into his mouth, nonchalant, and, ignoring Shu, promptly curled into his shawl fast asleep, leaving the other alone to process what he just saw.

 

It was not difficult to imagine that Shu couldn’t sleep that night, mind replaying everything that had happened that day. He spent it instead, as he often did when he was troubled, sewing.

If asked, Shu would defend that he wasn’t sure what he was doing, or why. Likely, that he did indeed gotten possessed by something out there in that battleground. It wouldn’t be a full lie anyways, he did indeed feel he had gone mad, seeing what he had seen and now sewing what he was.

What he wouldn’t say, at least out loud, is that it was for Kagehira. Whether or not the ever more mystifying boy – no, _Valkyrie_ , he corrected himself, as he was quite positive of that fact now – believed, Shu’s was definitely sure he was not a deity, his own magical talent aside. What he was, was a clothes maker – an excellent one, he would boast – and Shu would be a terrible one if he didn’t notice that Kagehira didn’t have any clothes on himself aside the shawl (and onlythat reason he told himself). It would damage his pride if he wouldn’t be able to take care of as something as simple as making a basic outfit, even during a moonless night. In the middle of a forest…

Alright, he was a fool as well. But the fact remained that the boy needed real clothing, powerful god or not. That shawl wasn’t enough. While today might have been warm, it never stayed that way long in these northern lands.

He had also decided that Kagehira would be traveling with him for the time being and that meant looking presentable. No matter how lovely the fabric and the wearer, Shu refused to openly associate with someone covered in only a blanket. It was also necessary to the plan his mind was concocting on finally getting revenge on those mockery of royalty, the Tenshiouin’s, and the boy could indeed play a vital role.

Until then, Shu hoped the fabric choices he was envisioning would bring out the resplendent _blár_ of his shawl and hair while simultaneously complimenting the mismatch of his eyes once daybreak came, as he silently sew by firelight into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's me, back with my religious theme-loving bullshit. This time, NOT smut (wow I know), and taking place during the time of Norse Christianization in and around modern-day Sweden. I kinda, sorta have a degree in archaeology related to this so, even though it wasn't my academic focus, I thought I'd take a stab at it because Valkyrie's still (and forever) has me by the balls. (Also because there's never enough historical fantasy au let's be real here).
> 
> On that note, while this...fic? Prologue?-chapter thing?? seems like it's gonna be a multi-chapter novel - Don't expect much else. I didn't even think I'd write anything past a summary I quickly threw together...but lol, here we are. 
> 
> We shall see!


End file.
